At this time, hundreds of thousands of Chu troops led by Xiang Yan were marching quickly along the road built by Zhang Ruo. The entire Chu army was divided into two teams. Xiang Yan led the infantry and a small number of cavalry to rush forward quickly, trying to reach Bashu as quickly as possible, while Xiang Yan's military advisor Fan Zeng led the remaining people to escort supplies and military equipment. Waiting for normal march.
The Qin army defenders along the way, seeing such a large Chu army, closed their city gates tightly, and then sent a small number of troops to harass and attack. Although they received orders from Ying Zheng and were not allowed to stop the Chu army, in order to To prevent Xiang Yan from becoming suspicious, they still sent troops to intercept. Most of them occupied the terrain, ambush Xiang Yan's army, and then withdrew when Xiang Yan reacted.
Xiang Yan was very annoyed by the harassment by these defenders along the way. If he hadn't wanted to support Bashu as soon as possible, he would have led an army to besiege the surrounding cities to take revenge for this harassment. Compared to Xiang Yan, Fan Zeng had a much easier time, because with Xiang Yan's reminder and because they were not in a hurry to march, there was no impact.
At this time, 100,000 Qin troops were ambushed at the mountain pass from Wujun to Shu. The leader was Meng Wu. There were 50,000 defenders in Hanzhong. Just in case, Ying Zheng ordered to mobilize another 50,000 troops from Lantian. Meng Wu led an ambush on Xiang Yan, while 50,000 soldiers and horses led by Wang Ben were stationed in Yufu, silently waiting for Xiang Yan to pass by, surrounding his retreat, and completely burying the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops.
Running rapidly, in four days, Xiang Yan led the army to march through the Yufu area.
"General, there are many military flags outside Yufu City. Is there an ambush?" the deputy general said while looking at the spies' report.
"Don't worry, every city of the Qin army along the way is full of military flags. They are all bluffing, worried that our target is the city, and they are just delaying our time to wait for reinforcements." Xiang Yan waved his hand and said, at first he also I thought the opponent was well prepared, but after an attack test, I discovered that those military flags were just a bluff.
The deputy general thought about the large and small cities they encountered along the way, and they all behaved like this. At first, they tried to slow down their marching speed and deal with them carefully. In the end, the total number of the opponents was less than ten thousand, and the military flags were all planted together. One person waved the military flag as if it were two people, and the doubts in the lieutenant general's mind disappeared.
"Don't stop, keep moving forward." Xiang Yan ordered. He must lead his troops to attack quickly now. What he was fighting for was a time lag. They attacked suddenly. Even if they were discovered by the Qin army in Yiling, by the time their general reported and the Qin State reacted and mobilized their troops to prepare, they would have already arrived at Shu County. At that time, they occupied natural dangers to resist the Qin army. Lord Changping would also persuade the court to mobilize public opinion and force the King of Chu to send troops to attack central Guizhou to support them.
At the same time, their allies, Zhao and Wei, will attack Qin's Shangdang, Yingchuan and other places. The Korean restoration forces located in Yingchuan County will also take the opportunity to launch a rebellion among the people. By then, Qin will have no time to take care of itself, and all the army will be defeated. Involved, they also had the opportunity to capture the two counties of Bashu and completely seal the Qin State until the time of King Huiwen.
In Yufu City, Wang Ben looked at the news reported by the spies that the Chu army's former troops had passed through Yufu's range, and ordered:
"Continue to stand by and wait until the rear army passes before attacking."
Xiang Yan did not become suspicious, which was as expected by Wang Ben. After receiving the order, he asked each city to set up a large number of military flags in advance. On the one hand, it was to delay Xiang Yan's march, and on the other hand, it was also to delay Xiang Yan's march. They laid cover in Yufu's ambush. It is impossible for an army of 50,000 people to hide their traces. It is better to lay out suspicions in advance and use the news that the wolf is coming to paralyze Xiang Yan.
Fan Zeng, who was also behind Xiang Yan, had no doubts about the scene of Yu Fu. He was more careful than Xiang Yan along the way. Basically, he would send people to test the cities he passed. As a result, a lot of energy and energy were involved. As time passed, the distance between them and Xiang Yan became wider and wider. For this reason, Fan Zeng gave up exploring when he was in the city behind and started marching at full speed.
"Mr. Fan, the army has passed through Yufu and will next pass through Xianxian. The general is waiting for us in front." The deputy general said to Fan Zeng.
"Send troops to follow, let the general wait for a while, and send people to pretend to attack Yufu to prevent Yufu's defenders from ambushing in the sky. As long as they pass through the sky, they will reach Bajun. If Qin makes any move, it will definitely delay here. Army." Fan Zeng said.
"No!" The deputy general went down to find the messenger and asked him to pass it on to Xiang Yan.
At this time, Xiang Yan was at the entrance of Yixiantian. Looking at the high and precipitous peaks and narrow valleys on both sides, Xiang Yan led his army to a stop. Although Xiang Yan thought that it was impossible for the Qin army to deploy here, he was cautious His nature still prevented him from entering easily.
"General, Mr. Fan told the general to wait for some time while he sent people to test the Yufu defenders," the deputy general said.
Xiang Yan looked at the Yixiantian Valley in front of him, and then at the tired soldiers behind him. Due to the high-intensity and rapid march, the soldiers had very little time to rest, so they were all exhausted. After passing the Yixiantian, they When entering Bajun, they will not face harassment like Wujun. According to the actions of the Qin army, even if they cannot mobilize troops in time, the defenders of Bajun will attack to stop the Chu army. If they fight with such exhausted soldiers, they will definitely be defeated. No, so Xiang Yan said
"The whole army is stationed, resting for half a day, and marching."
"promise!"
After the deputy general went down to convey Xiang Yan's order, the Chu army all stopped to rest. After receiving the order to rest, the Chu army's soldiers showed a relaxed look on their faces. The long and fast march made them exhausted, especially Marching at night in such a dangerous place, their nerves were always tense and they did not dare to relax for fear of falling.
Every stop at the station was their happiest moment, especially this time, which lasted for half a day. The moment they sat down, they began to take out the dry food and water they had prepared and began to rest. After eating, some people directly Falling asleep back to back was enough to show how stressful their intense marching was during this period.
The defenders at the top of Yufu City looked at the Chu army attacking below. While sending people to block the attack, they sent messengers to the city to notify Wang Bi.
"General, the Chu army has attacked the city!" the messenger came to the military camp tent and said.
Wang Ben put down the military book in his hand, frowned and looked at the messenger and asked
"Approximately how many people are there in the Chu army? How strong is the siege?"
"There are probably tens of thousands of Chu troops, and all kinds of siege equipment are there. We can vaguely see tens of thousands of Chu troops in the rear. Your Majesty, the Commander-in-Chief, please kindly ask the general to send people to help defend the city," the messenger said.
"Take me to the city wall." Wang Ben said seriously. The Chu army rushed to attack the city, which surprised him. Normally, the Chu army should be marching quickly. There are not many defenders in Yufu, but the terrain is high. Attacking the city will take some time, which is not in line with the marching trend of the Chu army.
"No!" said the messenger.
The messenger led Wang Ben up to the city wall. The county guard and the county lieutenant were organizing all the defenders to resist the Chu army's attack. They had repelled three Chu army attacks. When they saw Wang Ben's arrival, , the two of them rushed to meet him.
"General Wang, the Chu army has attacked twice, each time with more fierce attacks. The third time has already mobilized all the defenders. If it happens next time, we may not be able to withstand the risk." said the county lieutenant.
"Your Majesty, please wait for a while. If the Chu army's goal is really Yufu, I will definitely send troops to help defend the city," Wang Ben said.
Seeing what Wang Bi said, the county guard who was about to plead with Wang Bi stopped talking. Wang Bi was only a temporary general, and his job was a school captain, which was one level lower than him as a county guard, but there were others behind Wang Bi. Wang Jian, Wang Jian is a real military boss. He can't afford to offend a county lieutenant, so he can only listen to Wang Ben's words.
Wang Ben looked at the Chu army below who was preparing for the fourth attack. The siege equipment in the hands of the Chu army was indeed siege equipment, but it was more defensive equipment such as shields, and the ladders were at the very back. The battering ram did not even appear, especially in the Chu army's camp, which had no intention of being stationed at all. Generally speaking, siege would be a long and drawn-out battle. The attackers would set up camps, on the one hand, for the commander to observe the enemy's movements. and dispatching troops, on the other hand it also provides convenience for soldiers to attack.
The Chu army's camp below did show signs of being stationed, but no defensive equipment such as horseback was prepared. They simply set up camp and tents. At that moment, Wang Ben figured out that the Chu army was attacking the city to test Yu. Whether the defenders were in the city or not, they attacked three times, and the number of people doubled each time. The third time was exactly what the defenders could resist. The fourth time they mobilized the army so openly, it was obviously to test them.
"Order some of the defenders to take off their armor and put on civilian clothes." Wang Ben said. The defenders generally would not let the civilians participate in the siege unless they were at the end of their rope. The other party openly mobilized three times the strength of the defenders to attack the city. , just to see if they can use the people to defend the city.
The county lieutenant and the county guard were stunned, wondering why Wang Ben gave such an order.
"Just do as I say. I guarantee that they will fade away as soon as they see these soldiers." Wang Ben looked at the county lieutenant and the county guard with serious eyes.
The two looked at each other in confusion. Due to Wang Ben's identity, they could only follow Wang Ben's order to have some of the soldiers guarding the city change into civilian clothes.
The fourth round of siege began. The Chu army with three times the defenders rushed towards Yufu City. Yufu was immediately surrounded by the Chu army. Bows and arrows were shooting at each other. Rolling logs and stones were constantly being thrown down. Chu soldiers continued to attack. Impacting Yufucheng.
Fan Zeng in the camp is waiting for news of the siege soldiers.
"Mr. Fan, the soldiers who attacked the city are back," the deputy general said.
"Bring him in quickly." Fan Zeng said.
The soldiers who were attacking the city were brought back. The soldiers were disgraced and had some blood stains on their faces. The soldiers saluted immediately after seeing Fan Zeng.
"Mr. Fan."
"How?" Fan Zeng said looking at the soldier.
"The resistance of the defenders is still very strong. I saw some civilians on the top of the city. They were holding rolling logs and rocks and throwing them down. Some people were also holding crossbows, but their shooting range was very close. Some brothers attacked the top of the city. , these civilians did not attack but retreated immediately," the soldier said.
During the siege, there were specialized soldiers who observed the enemy's movements at close range on top of the city, just like later war reporters. This soldier was one of them. Soon the general in charge of the siege came back and faced Fan Zeng. Make a report and say the same thing as a soldier.
"Okay, in that case, tell the army to retreat and tell the general to send troops into the first line of sky." Fan Zeng said.
"promise!"
At this time, at Xiang Yan's place, the spies that Xiang Yan sent out also came back. The spies explored the situation in the sky and found that there was no trace of the enemy. At this time, Fan Zeng's messenger also came. After learning that Yufu's defenders were sufficient, Under the circumstances, Xiang Yan's doubts finally dissipated, and he immediately ordered the army to prepare to continue marching.
But here in Yufu, the Chu army began to retreat on a large scale after receiving the order. The county guards and county lieutenants on the city wall were a little confused. Wang Ben explained the reason to them. Only then did they understand and looked at them with admiration. Wang Ben lamented in his heart that he really had no dogs at home.
After the Chu army completely evacuated, Wang Ben sent spies to report the whereabouts of Fan Zeng's army at any time.
At this time, Meng Wu and his troops were guarding the exit of Yixiantian. In order to prevent Xiang Yan's spies from discovering them, he specially set up an ambush only at the exit of Yixiantian. He only needed to block the exit, while Wang Ben blocked the way back. Go up, then send people up the mountain to attack again.
Xiang Yan sat in charge of the central army and said to the messenger next to him.
"Order the entire army to speed up and leave Xiantian within an hour. I always have an ominous feeling here."
"The terrain here is indeed chilling," the deputy general said.
The terrain of Yixiantian is too steep and is very suitable for an ambush. Looking up, you can only see a narrow strip of sky. The steep valley is the best ambush area. The original Wei general Pang Juan was set up by Sun Bin on Maling Road. In an ambush, Pang Juan destroyed hundreds of thousands of elites of the Wei State in the first battle. As a result, the Wei State collapsed and completely lost the capital to dominate the princes.
"No matter whether the Qin army ambushes here again, we must pass quickly." Xiang Yan said.
Their current situation is very similar to that of Pang Juan back then. It's just that one is chasing and the other is taking the initiative to attack. However, they are both lightly armed and simple. They also share the military heritage of a country. Chu's military strength has four major legions and border troops. and the three forces of the Imperial Guard.
The hundreds of thousands of troops Xiang Yan led this time were half of the elites of the Longteng Army and the border troops. It can be said that he took away one-third of the Chu army. If they were ambushed in the sky, the Chu army would They could no longer resist the Qin army's attack.
After Wang Ben got Fan Zeng and led all his troops into Yixiantian, the 50,000 defenders also quietly left Yufu and began to move towards the entrance of Yixiantian.
Soon, Meng Wu, who was ambushing at the exit, heard the sound of footsteps and horse hooves echoing in the valley. A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. The soldiers around him also cheered up, and the crossbows in their hands were also strung up.
Everything is ready today
(End of chapter)
